Family and Cosmetic DentistryAppointments: (707) 544-6280

Michael Hamblin D.D.S.

Family and Cosmetic Dentistry

If you're looking for dentures that look great and last, look no further than Family and Cosmetic Dentistry located in the Santa Rosa, CA area. Michael Hamblin, D.D.S. will assess your needs and fit you with durable, comfortable, natural-looking dentures - at a price you can afford.

For comfortable dental hygiene treatment in the Santa Rosa, California area, Dr. Michael Hamblin is known for having a gentle touch. The friendly team at Family and Cosmetic Dentistry provides teeth cleaning for a whiter smile.

Maintaining good dental hygiene is the foundation for healthy teeth and gums. We're committed to helping you have a lifetime of oral health.

For a quality porcelain crown in the Santa Rosa, CA area, Dr. Michael Hamblin is known for natural-looking results. At Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we use quality materials to restore your smile.

Your new tooth colored crown will blend in with the rest of your teeth. Our state-of-the-art techniques will make your smile look healthy and natural again.

Dr. Michael Hamblin is a trusted Santa Rosa area veneers dentist. Our professional team is dedicated to providing you with quality results in a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.

You won't have to feel embarrassed any longer by crooked, chipped or discolored teeth. With your new dental veneers, you'll be thrilled to show off your healthy teeth and beautiful smile.

Santa Rosa area Invisalign® dentist Michael Hamblin, D.D.S. is happy to provide your new clear braces. At Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we want you to have the straight teeth and beautiful smile you desire.

We're happy to assess your needs create your individual treatment plan for braces. You may be able to have your new Invisalign® aligners sooner than you think!

Types of Tooth Crowns

Most dentists will agree that the tooth crown is at the heart of general dentistry. They've all studied dental crowns in dental school, and some have done their best work replacing a missing tooth and saving the rest.

Research has given them the wherewithal to achieve virtually ideal restorations. They are natural looking, comfortable and stable in the moist environment of the mouth. Cosmetic dentistry professionals are better equipped now more than ever to build strong, long-lasting and cosmetically superior dental crowns.

What is a dental crown?

A crown (or cap) is a restoration placed over broken teeth or a cracked tooth that cannot sustain a conventional filling. By covering the biting surfaces and sides of the tooth, a dental crown strengthens the damaged tooth by binding together the remaining structures. There are basically three kinds of full-crown restorations that can be placed by your cosmetic dentist, each with pros and cons, depending on your situation.

A gold crown or metal alloy crowns have the longest track record for durability, but some people object to the look of metal.

A full porcelain crown - and its new ceramic cousin - looks wonderful and fits well; however, porcelain crowns are usually best on front teeth where stress is not so great.

There are elements of finesse in the creation of any crown. The fit is the thing. The teeth must be prepared with opposing teeth in mind so a good bite won't go bad after the crown is placed. The fit must accommodate adjacent teeth, too. And the "margin," the part of the crown nearest the gum, must fit smoothly to protect the health of gum tissue.

And all this effort is to one end: to save a tooth.

When is a dental crown called for?

A tooth that has been filled more than once cracks, breaks off, or falls victim to secondary caries - a cavity under or around a filling.

You've had root canal treatment on a molar, and it's prone to brittleness.

A tooth has suffered severe enamel wear.

The high school hockey star takes a blow in the mouth, and an otherwise sound tooth is broken.

You need an anchor for your new dental bridge.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Cosmetic Dentistry: What Is a Prosthodontist?

A general dentist attends four years of dental school after college and receives training in all areas of dentistry, including fillings, crowns, cleaning teeth, root canals, extracting teeth and much more. At the completion of this training period, a dentist can either go out and open a dental practice or continue on with their education and specialize in any of the above-mentioned areas. For example, an orthodontist is a specialist in braces.

A prosthodontist is a specialist in the restoration and replacement of broken and missing teeth. Their additional training lasts three years. During that time, they are taught in greater detail about both removable and fixed prosthodontics.

Removable Prosthodontics includes replacing missing teeth with appliances that the patients themselves can take in and out of their mouth, such as dentures and partial dentures.

Fixed prosthodontics includes replacing missing and/or broken teeth with restorations that the patient cannot take in and out, such as veneers, dental crowns, bridges and implants.

The most important part of the training is how to restore teeth in a variety of different situations so that the end result is the most esthetic and predictable outcome possible. The types of cases seen in cosmetic dentistry are often more comprehensive and complex in nature. They often involve the combination of crowns and implants or can even be as involved as placing crowns on every tooth in a person's mouth.

To do this, prosthodontists are trained to evaluate all the different aspects of your teeth and mouth. They observe and treat your mouth with regards to:

esthetics (the overall shape, position, and appearance of your teeth)

function (how your teeth and jaw joints work together so that you can chew)

structure (the integrity of the individual teeth)

biology (the health of the gum tissue around the teeth).

By evaluating these different areas, the prosthodontist can treat one area of your mouth, but also will determine how other areas will impact the treatment. In essence, a prosthodontist looks at your mouth as a whole, even though there may be only one tooth requiring treatment.

Often times, especially in cases involving multiple and/or missing teeth, the involvement of other specialists and cosmetic dentistry will be needed to help with treatment. These specialists include orthodontists (to straighten or move teeth using braces), periodontists (for gum surgeries and placement of implants), endodontists (root canals) and oral surgeons (for the extraction of teeth and placement of implants). In essence, the prosthodontist acts as the coordinator to help sequence the proper treatment before the final restorations are placed. Often times, treatment can take longer to complete, especially if other specialists are involved. In taking a complete approach, you can be assured that you will end up with the most esthetic and reliable treatment, whether it involves one or all of your teeth.

By Greggory Kinzer, DDS, MSD

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.